February 10
Events *1258 – Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed. *1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriar's Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn sparking revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence *1355 – The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days. *1567 – Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, is found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o' Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland, a suspected assassination. *1763 – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain. *1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and the Prussians. *1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. *1846 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Sobraon: British defeat Sikhs in final battle of the war *1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America. *1862 – American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroys the bulk of the Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina. *1870 – The YWCA is founded in New York City. *1906 – , the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships is christened and launched by King Edward VII. *1920 – Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea. *1923 – Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas *1930 – Yên Bái mutiny in French Indochina *1933 – In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf. Schaaf dies four days later. *1936 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launched the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders. *1939 – Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France. *1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia. *1942 – The first gold record is presented to Glenn Miller for "Chattanooga Choo Choo". * 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army capture Banjarmasin, capital of Borneo in Dutch East Indies. *1943 – World War II: Attempting to completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Red Army engages German troops and Spanish volunteers in the Battle of Krasny Bor. *1947 – Italy cedes most of Venezia Giulia to Yugoslavia. * 1947 – Crowds gathered at shop windows in Paris to see Christian Dior's New Look fashion - longer skirts, nipped-in waists and padded shoulders. *1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 17 relating to Greek is adopted. *1949 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 68 is adopted. *1954 – United States President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam. *1962 – Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. * 1962 – Roy Lichtenstein's first solo exhibition opened, and it included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben-Day dots, speech balloons and comic imagery sourcing, all of which he is now known for. *1964 – Melbourne–Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier collides with and sinks the destroyer off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, killing 82. *1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified. *1981 – A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel–casino kills eight and injures 198. *1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party. *1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time. *2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. *2009 – The communications satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit, destroying both. *2013 – Thirty-six people are killed and 39 others are injured in a stampede in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela festival. Births *1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss author and scholar (d. 1582) *1606 – Christine Marie of France (d. 1663) *1609 – John Suckling, English poet and playwright (d. 1642) *1685 – Aaron Hill, English poet and playwright (d. 1750) *1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (d. 1765) *1744 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819) *1766 – Benjamin Smith Barton, American botanist and physician (d. 1815) *1775 – Charles Lamb, English author (d. 1834) *1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (d. 1836) *1795 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (d. 1858) *1821 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1908) *1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, English merchant and politician (d. 1898) *1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 1907) *1846 – Lord Charles Beresford, Irish admiral and politician (d. 1919) * 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (d. 1927) *1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, Bangladeshi poet and author (d. 1909) *1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (d. 1943) *1867 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and public servant (d. 1957) *1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia (d. 1879) * 1868 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (d. 1944) *1879 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (d. 1932) *1881 – Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (d. 1954) *1883 – Edith Clarke, American electrical engineer (d. 1959) *1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist, and poet (d. 1970) *1889 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982) *1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Ukrainian-Russian activist and rebel (d. 1918) * 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian author, poet, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960) *1892 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor and director (d. 1950) *1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and pianist (d. 1980) * 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player and coach (d. 1953) *1894 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986) *1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992) * 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985) *1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German director, playwright, and poet (d. 1956) * 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (d. 1979) *1901 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (d. 1992) *1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987) *1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948) * 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (d. 1939) *1904 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1963) *1905 – Walter A. Brown, American businessman, founded the Boston Celtics (d. 1964) * 1905 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1939) *1906 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (d. 1973) * 1906 – Erik Rhodes, American actor and singer (d. 1990) *1909 – Min Thu Wun, Burmese poet, scholar, and politician (d. 2004) *1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969) * 1910 – Sofia Vembo, Greek singer and actress (d. 1978) *1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player, composer, and actor (d. 2001) *1915 – Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016) *1919 – Ioannis Charalambopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2014) *1920 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (d. 2000) * 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010) * 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish lawyer and author (d. 2001) *1922 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (d. 2015) *1923 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (d. 2015) *1924 – Max Ferguson, Canadian radio host and actor (d. 2013) * 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005) *1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012) *1926 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (d. 2013) * 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish soldier, footballer and manager (d. 1993) *1927 – Leontyne Price, American operatic soprano *1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004) * 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer * 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer *1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (d. 2013) * 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor and producer *1932 – Barrie Ingham, English-American actor (d. 2015) *1933 – Richard Schickel, American journalist, author, and critic * 1933 – Faramarz Payvar, Iranian santur player and composer (d. 2009) *1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer and conductor *1937 – Anne Anderson, Scottish physiologist and academic (d. 1983) * 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer-songwriter and pianist *1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and politician, 26th Governor General of Canada *1940 – Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic, 4th Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia * 1940 – Mary Rand, English sprinter and long jumper * 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009) *1941 – Michael Apted, English director and producer *1942 – Lawrence Weiner, American artist *1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1992) * 1944 – Frank Keating, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Oklahoma * 1944 – Frances Moore Lappé, American author and activist * 1944 – Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) *1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian lawyer and jurist * 1947 – Butch Morris, American cornet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2013) * 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist *1948 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (d. 1994) *1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer *1951 – Bob Iger, American media executive *1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore *1955 – Chris Adams, English-American wrestler and trainer (d. 2001) * 1955 – Jim Cramer, American financier and author, co-founded TheStreet.com * 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer and sportscaster *1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu *1959 – John Calipari, American basketball player and coach *1960 – Jim Kent, American biologist, computer programmer, academic *1961 – Alexander Payne, American director, producer, and screenwriter * 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American journalist *1962 – Cliff Burton, American bass player and songwriter (d. 1986) * 1962 – Bobby Czyz, American boxer and sportscaster * 1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player and coach *1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player *1964 – Glenn Beck, American journalist, producer, and author * 1964 – Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (d. 1989) * 1964 – Francesca Neri, Italian actress and producer *1966 – Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician * 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player and sportscaster *1967 – Laura Dern, American actress, director, and producer * 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist and sportscaster * 1967 – Vince Gilligan, American director, producer, and screenwriter *1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player and coach * 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut *1969 – Joe Mangrum, American painter and sculptor *1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian journalist and author * 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan footballer and manager * 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author *1971 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (d. 2015) *1972 – Michael Kasprowicz, Australian cricketer *1973 – Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and politician, co-founded Lastminute.com *1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress * 1974 – Ty Law, American football player * 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer-songwriter and producer * 1974 – Henry Paul, New Zealand rugby player and coach *1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player and coach *1978 – Don Omar, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and actor *1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver * 1979 – Jumaine Jones, American basketball player * 1979 – Daryl Palumbo, American singer-songwriter *1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player * 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer * 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player *1981 – Uzo Aduba, American actress * 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English footballer * 1981 – Natasha St-Pier, Canadian singer-songwriter * 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English model and television host *1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter * 1982 – Tarmo Neemelo, Estonian footballer * 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby player *1983 – Ricardo Clark, American soccer player * 1983 – Daiane dos Santos, Brazilian gymnast * 1983 – Vic Fuentes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1983 – Taiji Ishimori, Japanese wrestler *1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player * 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress *1985 – Selçuk İnan, Turkish footballer *1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player * 1986 – Josh Akognon, American basketball player * 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer * 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer * 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player *1987 – Jakub Kindl, Czech ice hockey player * 1987 – Facundo Roncaglia, Argentinian footballer *1989 – Liam Hendriks, Australian baseball player *1990 – Barbara Guarischi, Italian cyclist * 1990 – Choi Soo-young, South Korean singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer *1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress *1992 – Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer and actress * 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer *1993 – Chaochih Liu, Taiwanese-American figure skater * 1993 – Max Kepler, German baseball player * 1993 – Filip Twardzik, Czech footballer * 1993 – Luis Madrigal, Mexican footballer *1994 – Na-eun, South Korean singer and actress (Apink) * 1994 – Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer *1996 – Christina Parie, Australian singer-songwriter *1997 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress * 1997 – Nadia Podoroska, Argentinian tennis player *2000 – Yara Shahidi, an Iranian-American actress Deaths *1126 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071) *1162 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130) *1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231) *1278 – Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (b. 1202) *1307 – Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan (b. 1265) *1524 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1468) *1526 – John V, Count of Oldenburg, German noble (b. 1460) *1576 – Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar, translator, and academic (b. 1532) *1645 – Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1587) *1686 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (b. 1605) *1722 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (b. 1682) *1755 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (b. 1689) *1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and author (b. 1702) *1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760) *1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and author (b. 1799) *1857 – David Thompson, English-Canadian surveyor and explorer (b. 1770) *1865 – Heinrich Lenz, Estonian-Italian physicist and academic (b. 1804) *1879 – Honoré Daumier, French illustrator and painter (b. 1808) *1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (b. 1814) *1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (b. 1850) *1904 – John A. Roche, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1844) *1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, American-Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827) *1912 – Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon and academic (b. 1827) *1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek long jumper (b. 1888) *1917 – John William Waterhouse, Italian-English soldier and painter (b. 1849) *1918 – Abdul Hamid II Ottoman sultan (b. 1842) * 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1833) *1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845) *1928 – José Sánchez del Río Mexican martyr and saint (b. 1913) *1932 – Edgar Wallace, English author and screenwriter (b. 1875) *1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857) *1944 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870) *1945 – Anacleto Díaz, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1878) *1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (b. 1872) *1956 – Leonora Speyer, American poet and violinist (b. 1872) * 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882) *1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867) *1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898) *1964 – Eugen Sänger, Austrian engineer (b. 1905) *1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and songwriter (b. 1899) *1967 – Dionysios Kokkinos, Greek historian and author (b. 1884) *1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek sailor and poet (b. 1910) *1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910) *1987 – Sadequain, Pakistani painter and calligrapher (b. 1930) *1992 – Alex Haley, American soldier, journalist, and author (b. 1921) *1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1929) *1995 – Paul Monette, American author, poet, and activist (b. 1945) *2000 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1949) *2001 – Abraham Beame, American academic and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (b. 1906) * 2001 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1913) *2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936) *2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (b. 1910) * 2003 – Albert J. Ruffo, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of San Jose (b. 1908) * 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, 14th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939) *2005 – Arthur Miller, American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1915) *2006 – J Dilla, American rapper and producer (b. 1974) *2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b. 1932) * 2008 – Steve Gerber, American author (b. 1947) *2009 – Jeremy Lusk, American motocross racer (b. 1984) *2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925) * 2010 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1933) *2011 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1923) *2012 – Lloyd Morrison, New Zealand banker and businessman, founded H. R. L. Morrison & Co (b. 1957) * 2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American journalist and author (b. 1958) *2013 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (b. 1927) * 2013 – David Hartman, American-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, founded the Shalom Hartman Institute (b. 1931) * 2013 – Eugenio Trías Sagnier, Spanish philosopher and academic (b. 1942) *2014 – Stuart Hall, Jamaican-English sociologist and theorist (b. 1932) * 2014 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (b. 1928) *2015 – Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934) * 2015 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (b. 1928) * 2015 – Deng Liqun, Chinese theorist and politician (b. 1915) *2016 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (b. 1930) * 2016 – Abdel-Bari Zamzami, Moroccan cleric (b. 1943) Holidays and observances *Christian feast day: **Austrebertha **Charalambos **Scholastica **February 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) *Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck (Public holiday in Malta) *Fenkil Day (Eritrea) *National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe (Italy) commemorates Italian Istrian and Dalmatian exiles and Foibe massacres (Italy, especially in Trieste) External links * BBC: On This Day * * Today in Canadian History Category:Days of the year Category:February